By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Yesterday afternoon, the Eastside Catholic Crusaders took on the Bellarmine Prep Lions in a loser-out regional game to determine who will advance to the 3A state tournament next week and take on Seattle Prep.
In the opening quarter, Bellarmine’s Kyla Frazier started the game off with a huge block against Eastside’s Tatum Carter and passed the ball to Melina Petramalo, who drove down the court and scored the first two points of the night. On the next possession, Eastside Catholic’s Amy Nduka scored the first two points of the night for her team to tie the game at 2-2. As the two teams battled back and forth, Eastside Catholic would begin to take control of the game. Frazier tried to help Bellarmine keep up with the Crusaders as she scored six first-quarter points, but Eastside Catholic took a slim 13-9 lead into the second quarter behind the five first-quarter points of Carter.
During the second quarter, it was once again a neck-and-neck game, creating an intense atmosphere. However, Bellarmine began to show signs of slowing down halfway through the quarter. With four minutes remaining, the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run led by Olivia Wollum, Talia Cermak, and Nduka as they took an 18-11 lead. Frazier countered with a run of her own, draining a three-point shot and a jump shot that forced the Crusaders to take a timeout as their lead quickly dwindled to two points at 18-16. Nduka, who is arguably one of the best rebounders on the Crusader roster, drew a foul on Bellarmine’s Saphia Lazrak that sent her to the line, where she converted both free throws. After the free throws by Nduka, Eastside Catholic quickly regained possession as Wollum drove to the hoop, adding two more points as the Crusaders increased their lead to 22-16.
Nduka, who finished the first half with eight rebounds, was a force in the paint that began to rub off on her team. Eastside Catholic’s Sophie Lugolobi made a steal and darted to the other end of the court for a smooth layup to give the Crusaders a 25-16 lead. Bellarmine Prep tried to respond, but the first half ended after Lazrak missed two free throws, as Eastside Catholic maintained their 25-16 lead.
At the start of the second half, Nduka once again made her presence felt with a rebound and a fast-break basket to start the third quarter. The two teams continued to battle back and forth during the quarter, with Frazier scoring eight third-quarter points for Bellarmine and Nduka leading the charge for the Crusaders, setting up her teammates and scoring six points of her own during the quarter as Eastside Catholic took a 43-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Nduka once again started off by scoring the first points for her team, adding one point from the free-throw line. Bellarmine, on the other hand, began to fizzle. With six minutes remaining in the game, Bellarmine’s Stella Wiggins picked up her fifth and final foul, exiting the game in tears. Eastside Catholic continued to excel on both sides of the court with another steal and fast break from Lugolobi, and a flurry of strong rebounds from Nduka as the Crusaders built a 53-38 lead with two minutes left in the game. Bellarmine Prep continued to struggle to find a rhythm as they took rushed and forced shots, airballs, and looked like they were just a step behind the Crusaders on the court.
To close out the game, Carter was sent to the line three times, where she converted five out of six free-throw attempts to bring the score to 60-40 with 20 seconds left on the clock. In a losing effort, Frazier was sent to the line and converted both free-throw attempts, but it wasn’t enough as Eastside Catholic defeated Bellarmine Prep 60-42, securing a spot in the 3A state girls’ basketball tournament next week at the Tacoma Dome.
Nduka finished the night with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Carter finished with 14 points to lead the Crusaders. Meanwhile, Frazier finished the night with 24 points to lead the Lions. With the win, Eastside Catholic will take on Seattle Prep on March 5 at 12:15 at the Tacoma Dome in a loser-out game, and Bellarmine Prep’s season comes to an end.
After the game, Nduka was very proud of her team’s performance and advancing to the state 3A girls’ basketball quarterfinals.
“This game went really well for us. I think we played really good as a team, and everyone contributed to the win,” Nduka said. “We all came ready to play because we really wanted to go to the Dome, so I am very glad that we are able to do that next week.”
